Do You Want to be Healed?
Sometimes, one of the hardest parts of moving past things that have bruised and battered us is actually wanting to move on. When we get into a cycle of anything, breaking that cycle is often extremely hard, and a cycle of hurt is no different. In her book, When You Don’t Like Your Story, author Sharon Jaynes asks some questions we should ponder when going through the process of healing, and these are questions we can ask ourselves if we are in/have been in a hurt cycle situation. The questions are: “Do I really want to stop the cycle of being stuck in a bad story? Do I really want to get well and move forward? Do I really want my worst chapters to become my greatest victories, knowing that it’s going to take some work to get there?”
In the book of John, there is a story of a lame man who had been sick and unable to walk for 38 years. The man spends his life lying by a pool that is supposed to be able to bring healing to the sick whenever the water was being stirred up at a certain time of day. All that man had to do to be healed was to get himself into the pool, and he would again be able to walk. One day, Jesus walked past this man, and knowing how long he’s been sick and stuck by that pool, Jesus asks if he wants to be healed. The man's response is as follows…
“Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.”
Did you catch that? Jesus asks this man, who has been lying there for likely over half his life, if he wants to be healed, and while the man’s response should be a resounding, “YES!” he simply makes excuses. While Jesus does end up healing this man, you should still take pause at his shocking response to what seems like such a simple question. However, shocking responses to simple questions like this come up all. the. time.
So let me ask you this: Do you want to be healed?
Do you want to let whatever fear or shame or anger you’re holding onto fall into the hands of our loving God who is able to shoulder the weight better than you ever could? Remember that you are loved by that same God, and He chose death on a cross so your burden could be canceled. He took the weight of our sin on His mighty back that day on Calvary, and He’s here to take the weight off you again.
“ A wound can become so precious to us that it becomes something we wear as a badge of honor in some strange way…”
Sharon Jaynes has a bit to say about how hard it can sometimes be to get out of the cycle of hurt and how to answer the question, “Do you want to get better?” She writes, “Even though it might seem like the obvious answer is yes, that’s not always the case.” When we get used to something, whether it’s good or bad, it can be quite a challenge to move past it and let go. Jaynes writes, “A wound can become so precious to us that it becomes something we wear as a badge of honor in some strange way…We might cling to a bad story because there is some comfort in it–it fits like a well-worn shoe. How have you seen this pattern of behavior in your own life? What was the outcome of clinging to that old pattern? What excuses are holding you back from experiencing the freedom Christ wants to give you? However painful the past might have been, it can also feel more stable than the uncharted territory of living without it…We can become so attached to our wounds that they become part of who we are.”
In order to get past, through, over, etc. whatever has happened in your past that has left you wounded, you have to actually want to get past it. Remember that man at the pool and the question Jesus asked? “Do you want to get well?” While moving on might initially seem harder than letting yourself continue to be dragged down by the painful parts of your story so far, ultimately moving on will lead to freedom and release for your soul.
“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. ”
Freedom is what God has for you, not the pieces of a broken past perpetually dragging you down. God wants you to find healing and rest for your soul, and that is why He sent His Son to die in the most powerful redemption story ever told. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 ESV). Jesus’ death on the cross was by far the darkest day anyone will ever face, but Jesus didn’t stay dead for long. Three days later, Christ emerged completely victorious over death and the grave, so that you could be free.
You are not bound to the things that once had a hold on you anymore–give them to God and let yourself start to heal. Not only will you start healing, but God will start using those broken pieces for good in ways that you never expected. The Bible says, “but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31 ESV). God is with you and can turn your story around and give you the strength you need to carry on.
Jaynes writes, “As long as we wallow in regret and bathe in bitterness, we will remain stuck in our stories. Our worst chapters will not become our greatest victories. If we slap away God’s healing hand when He reaches down, the wounds will stay just that…wounds.” The King of the Universe wants to take you by the hand and pull you up out of the mess you’re in, and the best thing you could ever do for yourself is to surrender to His healing grace.
Sometimes, all I can do is give things up to the LORD and ask for the strength to be able to move on. In those times, when I am feeling weak and I don’t know how it’s possible for me to be helped, God answers. He will answer you, too.
